Graphophone.



T. H. MACDONALD.

GRAPHOPHONE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 27, 1906. 1,054,359, Patented Feb. 25, 1913.

, 3 BHBETHEBBT I.

T. H. MACDONALD.

GRAPHOPHDNE. APPLICATION FILED D2127, 19M. I 1,054,359. Patented Feb.25, 1913.

3 BHBBTHHBBT 8.

T. H. MAODONALD.

ammonium. APPLICATION FILED DEG. 27, 1906,

Patented Febi 1033.

' I Witnesses CQWUL 0 THOMAS I-IFMACDONALD, or BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 AMERICAN GRAPHOPHONE COMPANY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, A

WEST VIRGINIA.

conrona'rron or "GRAPHOPHONE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. MAC- DONALD, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Graphophones, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to gra'phophones, and has for its o-bejct to improve the construction and general arrangement of parts entering into said machine.

As heretofore Ct' lSllllCfQCl, g 'aphophones and similar talking machines using the cylindrical form of record,.have generally employed a reproducer resting approximately upon the upper surface of the record, so that the weight of the reproducer rises and falls in response to the irregularities of the record as-a whole, and the reproducer was supported by the advancing carriage in approximately a horizontal plane. In case .an amplifying horn was employed, such i horn has been carried bodily on the front side of the reproducer carriage, to the end that the reproduced sounds might be directed by the horn toward the front of the instrument; or if a larger horn is employed, the same has been mounted upon a stand in front of the machine and connected to the top of the reproducer and on the front side of the carriage.

According to the present invention, the reproducer is mounted to the rear of the cylindrical record and rigidly fixed in the carriage, so that the reproduce as a whole is not capable of movement toward and from the record, the reproducer style being pressed against the record by a spring tension. Furthermore, by the present invention the amplifying horn is mounted upon a rigid supporting bracket projecting to the rear of the machine, the horn, however, being so mounted on said arm thatitis capable of swinging so as to direct the open or mouth end of the horn to any point of the compass. Moreover, extending between the reproducer and the point where the horn is supported by the rigid bracket, there is a hollow soumlconvcying tube preferably tapering in form,- and so mounted upon the supporting bracket as to be capable of swinging in a horizontal-plane, and also of more or less movement in a vertical plane,

though this last frcedonrof movement isj not essential. The 56 and hence also the reproducer, move in a Specification of Letters Patent.

reproducer carriage,

the bracket (5 at the opposite side otthe ma Patented Feb. 25,191

"Application filed December 27, 1906. Serial No. 349,696.

right line past the cylindrical record, and in I i the horizontal sound-conveying arm and the reproducer may be a continuous one, (notwithstanding the increase of distance between the axis of said arm and the reproducer as the same'is advanced along the record), the said arm is connected to the reproducer by meansof an expanding or telescopic joint. The carriage is advanced along the slide or way supportingit' by means of a suitable nut engaging the operatingscr'ew, and means'are provided for.

screw by overcoming the tension of r the order that the union between" simultaneously lifting said nut 'from'the spring which holds it in operative'position,"

and at the same time lifting the reproducer stylus from contact with the record, and likewise overcoming the. tension of the spring holding it against 'the'record.

There are other features of invention whiclrwill be specifically hereinafter described and then pointed out in the claims.

()ne of the sore all mechanical expressions of which the inventive idea is capable is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in

which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved graphophone, parts being broken away for greater clearuess of illustration; Fig. 2 is a top plan view with the amplify-a ing horn removech-a portion of the same, however, being shown in dotted outline; Fig. 3 is a front elevational view with a part of the cylindrical record and supporting mandrel broken away in order to show the reproducer and connected parts; Fig. at 'is'a broken perspective detail 'illustratingdhe nut by which the carriage is connected and operated by the advancing screw; and Fig. 5 is a perspective detail illustrating the telescopie joint between the reproducer"and the connected tone-arm.

Referring to the drawings. in which like reference numerals indicate like parls, 1- is 'the casing or box of the machine \\'lllllllbracket 5, while the screw shaft has bearlugs not only in said bracket 5. but also in I'c'hine. -Extending between .1116 brackets 5 and .6 and to therear ofthe screw shaft and-mandrelfis a guide rod 7 upon which [slides aflsleeve 8 supporting the frame 9,

within Which is rigidly mounted the reproducer 10, the same being preferablyheld-in position by a suitable set -screw 11 (Fig; 3).

' Pivoted in a central slot in the lower part of the frame 9'and positioned so as to turn around the. sleeve 8 is a lever 12 (see Fig. 4), in the generalform of a bell-crank lever. One arm 13 projects forward from the sleeve 8 and carriesv a nut 14 engaging the screw on the shaft 1; the other-arm is bent in a semicircular form so as to coincide substantially with'the outline of the frame 9 without interfering with upwardto thtdp of the said frame.':), and g is provided b 20 The repro belt consists of-lth'e, u sual' re'- producer fraigleiiitl'nd. diaphragm carried in the frame, w} lg t-lpivoted to the frame is a bell-crank leve l1. extendingacross the face of the di ,and supporting the Stylus suitably pivoted thereto, one'arm of s ald styluslever carrying the stylus and the other arm being connected by a flexible connection 18 to the-diaphragm,

\ as clearly, shown in Fig. 1. ,Pivoted on a bracket 19 on '9 is a lever 20 which isprovided withtwo the upper part of the frame cam-shaped ar ns .or lugs, 21 and 22 so formed and positioned that when. the lever- 20 is in the position shown in Fig. 1," lugs. 21 and 22 are out of contact with the arms 15 and 16 onthe nut-operating lever and the I screw thread to right as shown in 1* wipes upon and therefore the nut is held 23 in engagement with-the on the propelling shaft, and the-stylus is held in contact with the record bythe tension of spring 2 1; but when the lever is thrown backward (that-is, from left ig. 1),the lug 21 the cam or beveled'end of the arm- 15, and the lu 22 wipes against the arm 16 of the stylus lever, and thereby throws the nut o-utof engagement with the screw and the stylus out of engagement with the record Rigidly mounted upon the casing 1 and extending rearward therefrom is abracket .25, which is preferably formed at its upper ear end so as to afford an annular seat /for e amplifying horn .26, which is retained stylus lever, by its spring -in, place upon the bracketby anylsuitable clamping ring 27 which overlaps the projecting flange on the end of the horn and thus retains it in position so that it can be 'sw-ivele'd or turned around inany direction in its seat. Projecting fromthe rear-side ofthe reproducer casing is-a neck 28 within which: there is seated the close-fitting spher- Moreover,

and the sty w a; in Fig. 'riage will move in a right line parallel with ical end of a tube 29, which tubeis prefer ably conical on its inside, but'with approximately. cylindrical walls. on its outside, as

will be clearly seen from Fig. 1. This tube 29 is firmly held. in place in the neck 28 by means of a pin 30 preferably screw-threadedthroughthe neck 28, and provided with a lug or pin-like part entering a suitable hole in the spherical portion of the tube 29. Telescoped over the tube 29 is a tone-arm 31, which is hollow and preferably tapering in form, expanding from a' pointadjacent-to the tube 29 until it practically coincides in diameter with the amplifying horn 26 at the point where saidhorn is. supported in bracket 25. This-tone-arm is provided with suitable means for supporting it, in the bracket '25 so as to leave itfree to. turn in a horizontal plane. As here shown these means consist of two trunnions 32, 32 securedto the exterior wall of the endof the tone-arm,.which trunnions rest upon an ann'ular ledge 33 (Fig. 1) on the interior face of the annular part of the bracket 25. This leaves the tone-arm 'free to be'turned in a horizontal plane and also in a vertical plane,

a's'may be convenient when adjusting the parts. p I It will be seen by this construction that there are no parts of the machine in front of the record or mandrel, and therefore, that the same may be much more conveniently reached for placing a record upon the mandrel or removing it therefrom.

the carriage is quickly and readily connected to the operating screw lus brought in contact" with the record by a single-movement, while an am-- plifying horn of any desired size and weight maybe employed without imposing any 05 additional burden upon the operating carriage, and the horn be free to be swung during the operation of the machine so as to direct the sound as desired.

.Rcfer'ring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the end of the tone-arm 31 adjacent to the neck 28 on the reproducer, will, during the reproduction of the entire record, move through the are indicated by the dotted lines I 2, whereas the reproducer carapproximately the central portion of the record, that'is', in the position shown, in;

Figs. 2 and-3., the tube 29 will extend well' into the .end of thetone-arm 31,

but when; is moved to either; side of the reproducer the tube 29 begins to draw the medial line,

out of the end of the. tone-arm-31, in the manner clearly illustrated in Fig 5.

For the purpose ofsteadying the carriage, I

there is preferably provided W-IOdfigiifibttl 33', extending between the brackets 5 and i 6 and below the guide-bar 7, and'an arm 3i rigidly attached to the carriage extends downward and engages the guide rock with its lower forked end, thereby steadyin'gthe action of the carriage and preventing it from oscillating around the bracket rod 7.

What I claim is 1. In a talking machine, the combination of a ropelling screw, a vertically disposed inova le frame, a sound box mounted in said frame, a diaphragm and stylus, a 'spring ressed supporting lever on which said styus .is' mounted, a nut connected to said frame and en aging said screw under 5 ring tension, a roc ing lever supporting sai nut, and a lever pivoted on the top of said frame and provided with two arms which respectively engage said supporting lever and said rock ng lever to simultaneously disen go the stylus from the record and the nut rom thescrew. I 2.- In atalking machine, the combination of a propelling screw, a vertically disposed movable frame, a sound box mounted in said frame,- a diaphragm and stylus, a springpressed supporting lever on which said stylus is mounted, a two-armed rocking lever pivoted in the lower part of said frame,one of said arms carrying a nut that engages said screw and the other being bent to substantially semi-circular form, and a lever pivoted on said frame and provided with two arms which respectively engage said supporting lever and said rocking lever to simultaneously disengage the stylus; from therecordand the nut from the screw.

from the record and t e nut 3. In a talking machine, the combination of a propelling screw, a do rod, a collar -movable thereon, a vertica 1y disposed frame sleeve, one of sald arms carryin a nut that engages said screw and the ot er dprojecting upwardlytoward thetop of sai frame, and a lever pivoted on said frame and provided with two arms which respectively engage said supporting lever and said rocking lever to simultaneous] disen age the stylus Erom 4. In a talking machine, the combination of a reproducei-"having a stylus'normally held against the record by spring pressure, a frame movin -in a right line andsupporting said repro ucer in approximately a vertical plane, a neck projecting rearwardly the screw. 2: ta

from said reproducer, a tube provided with aspherical end that engages in a. correspondingly shaped portion in sa d neck,--'an amplifying. horn mounted-"on a fixed sup-' port, and-ahollow tone armtelescoping over said tube and leading tojsmd horn. a

In testimony whereofI have signed this specification in the ing witnesses. I I I 4 THOMAS H. MACDONALD.

Witnesses: a

LUCY B. NICHOLSQN, 7 Museum PARnor, f

presence of two subscrib- 

